Flexible display screen and display device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a flexible display screen and a display device. The flexible display screen includes a display panel, a reel mechanism, and a support structure. The display panel includes a display surface and a support base away from the display surface. The support base is a stepped structure. The reel mechanism is disposed on a side of the display panel. A part of the display panel is wrapped around inside the reel mechanism. The support structure includes a plurality of support plates.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/963,512, filed on Jul. 21, 2020 and entitled “FLEXIBLE DISPLAYSCREEN AND DISPLAY DEVICE.”

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is related to the field of display devices, andspecifically, to a flexible display screen and a display device.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

In general, liquid crystal display devices, plasma display devices,field emission display devices, light-emitting display devices, etc.have been actively researched as flat panel display devices. However,the liquid crystal display devices and the light-emitting displaydevices have become a focus because they can realize advantages of massproduction technology, ease of production of driving components, andhigh image quality.

Recently, with regard to technical deficiencies of the flat paneldisplay devices, it is particularly necessary to intensify research anddevelopment on rollable or foldable display product structures that canattract consumers' attention. A conventional rollable display deviceincludes a display panel capable of displaying an image, and a reel; thedisplay panel is then wrapped around the reel. However, in such arollable display device, friction and electromagnetic interferencegenerated between every instance of the display panel wrapped around thereel during stretching or rewinding greatly affects lifespan of thedisplay panel.

Therefore, it is necessary to research and develop a flexible displaydevice capable of realizing a rollable display or a foldable displaywithout the above problems.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A purpose of the present invention is to provide a flexible displayscreen and a display device to solve a problem of a short lifespan of arollable display panel in the prior art.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides aflexible display screen. The flexible display screen includes a displaypanel, at least one reel mechanism, and a support structure. The displaypanel includes a display surface and a support base away from thedisplay surface. The support base is a stepped structure. The reelmechanism is disposed on a side of the display panel. A part of thedisplay panel is wrapped around inside the reel mechanism. The supportstructure includes a plurality of support plates.

When the display panel is drawn out, the plurality of support plates inthe support structure forms a laminated structure, and a step of thesupport base of the display panel closest to the reel mechanism isdisposed on a topmost layer of the plurality of support plates. When thedisplay panel is expanded, the plurality of support plates in thesupport structure corresponding thereto is drawn out, and the pluralityof support plates drawn out form a stepped structure, which fits thestepped structure of the support base of the expanded display panel, andthe display surface of the expanded display panel forms a flat surface.

Furthermore, the flexible display screen further includes a flexiblelayer. The flexible layer is disposed on the display surface of thedisplay panel. A side of the flexible layer is fixed in the reelmechanism. A length of the display panel is less than a length of theflexible layer.

Furthermore, the reel mechanism includes a reel provided with a spiralwinding structure. Aside of the flexible layer is fixed to a center ofthe reel. The display panel and the flexible layer are wrapped into thereel mechanism along the reel.

Furthermore, the reel mechanism further includes at least one coilspring mounted on one end of the reel.

Furthermore, the reel mechanism further includes balls or rollers. Theballs or the rollers are disposed on a surface of the reel facing thedisplay panel. A rotation direction of the balls or the rollers is sameas a rotation direction of the reel mechanism.

Furthermore, the reel mechanism further includes a housing. The reel isrotationally disposed in the housing. An end of a last layer of theplurality of support plates is connected to the housing. The housing isprovided with an opening. The display panel and the flexible layerextend into the reel mechanism through the opening.

Furthermore, the flexible display screen further includes a mid-framecase. The display panel and the support structure are disposed in themid-frame case, and the display surface is exposed. A side of theflexible layer away from the reel is fixed in the mid-frame case.

Furthermore, the flexible display screen further includes a battery anda motherboard. The battery is disposed in the mid-frame case. Themotherboard is disposed in the mid-frame case and is connected to thedisplay panel and the battery.

Furthermore, the display panel further includes a display layer, a touchlayer, and a polarizer. The display layer is disposed on the supportbase. The touch layer is disposed on a surface of the display layer awayfrom the support base. The polarizer is disposed on a surface of thetouch layer away from the display layer.

The present invention also provides a display device. The display deviceincludes the flexible display screen as described above.

The flexible display screen and the display device provided by thepresent invention configure the reel in the reel mechanism to be thespiral winding structure. The display panel is wrapped into the reelalong the spiral winding structure of the reel, so that every instanceof the display panel wrapped around itself is, thereby reducing frictionand electromagnetic interference generated by the display panel wrappedaround inside the reel mechanism and extending the lifespan of thedisplay panel. Also, a surface of the display panel facing the supportstructure is configured to be the stepped structure which fits thesupport structure, so that a step difference between every two supportplates in the support structure is eliminated, and the display surfaceof the display panel is flattened, thereby improving user experience.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to describe technical solutions in the present inventionclearly, drawings to be used in the description of embodiments will bedescribed briefly below. Obviously, drawings described below are onlyfor some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings can beobtained by those skilled in the art based on these drawings withoutcreative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of components of a flexible display screenin an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of layers of the flexible display screenin an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional view of a collapsed support structure ofthe flexible display screen in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional view of an expended support structure ofthe flexible display screen in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of components of a reel mechanism in anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the reel mechanism in anembodiment of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS

display panel 10, display layer 11, touch layer 12, polarizer 13,support base 14, adhesive layer 15, pressure sensitive adhesive 16,flexible layer 20, extension end 21, support structure 30, support plate31, reel mechanism 40, reel 41, coil spring 42, housing 43, shell 44,cap 45, opening 46, motherboard 50, power supply 60, mid-frame case 70.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be introduced withreference to appended drawings as follows to demonstrate that thepresent invention can be implemented. The embodiment of the presentinvention can be fully introduced to those skilled in the art to maketechnical contents clearer and easier to understand. The presentinvention can be embodied in many different forms of embodiment, and thescope of protection of the present invention is not limited to theembodiments set forth herein.

In the appended drawings, structurally identical components aredesignated by the same reference numerals, and structurally orfunctionally similar components throughout are designated by similarnumerical reference numerals. The dimensions and thicknesses of eachcomponent shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown. The size andthickness of each component are not limited, and for the sake ofclarity, the thickness of the components is exaggerated somewhat in someplaces in the drawings.

Direction terms mentioned by the present invention, for example “upper,”“lower,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “inner,” “outer,” “side,”etc. are merely directions in the appended drawings for only explainingand illustrating the present invention. The orientation or positionalrelationship is only for the convenience of describing the presentinvention and simplifying the description, and does not indicate orimply that the device or element referred to must have a specificorientation, structure and operation in a specific orientation, andshould not be viewed as limitations of the present invention. Inaddition, terms “first,” “second,” and “third” are used for descriptivepurposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implyingrelative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technicalfeatures indicated.

When some part is described to be “on” another part, the part can bedirectly disposed on the other part; alternatively, an intervening partcan exist, the part is disposed on the intervening part, and theintervening part is disposed on the other part. When a part is describedto be “installed on” or “connected to” another part, it can beunderstood that the parts are directly “installed” or “connected” toeach other, alternatively it is understood that one part is “installed”or “connected” to the other part through an intervening part.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a display device. Thedisplay device includes a flexible display screen. The flexible displayscreen provides a display screen for the display device. The displaydevice can be any electronic products or components with a displayfunction, such as mobile phones, laptops, televisions, and so on.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the flexible display screen includes a displaypanel 10, a reel mechanism 40, and a support structure 30.

The support structure 30 includes three support plates 31, the supportplates 31 are laminated atop each other. One or more slide rails areconfigured to realize movable installation between every two supportplates 31, so that a stepped expansion shown in FIG. 2 can be realizedbetween the support plates 31. The slide rails can be section-by-sectionlocking slide rails, so that the support structure 30 can be expandedlayer by layer. When the support structure 30 is collapsed, it is shownas in FIG. 3 . When the support structure 30 is expanded, it is shown asin FIG. 4 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the display panel 10 includes a display layer 11, atouch layer 12, a polarizer 13, and a support base 14. The support base14, the display layer 11, the touch layer 12, and the polarizer 13 aresequentially laminated. A surface of the display panel 10 away from thesupport base 14 is its display surface. The touch layer 12 is disposedon a surface of the display layer 11. The polarizer 13 is disposed on asurface of the touch layer 12 away from the display layer 11. Thedisplay layer 11 and the touch layer 12 can be attached with an opticaladhesive, which increases integration and stability between the displaylayer 11 and the touch layer 12 and prevents peeling. the touch layer 12and the polarizer 13 can be attached with a pressure sensitive adhesive16, which increases adhesion between the touch layer 12 and thepolarizer 13 without affecting pressure sensing of the touch layer 12.The display layer 11 is configured to emit light and provide a displayscreen. The touch layer 12 is configured to implement touch control. Thepolarizer 13 is configured to filter and polarize the light emitted bythe display layer 11 to help the display panel 10 to image. The supportbase 14 is disposed on a surface of the display layer 11 away from thetouch layer 12, and it can also be attached to the display layer 11through an adhesive layer 15. The support base 14 is also disposed onthe support plates 31 of the support structure 30. A surface of thesupport base 14 facing the supporting structure 30 is provided with astepped structure. Each step in the stepped structure corresponds toeach support plate 31 in the support structure 30.

When the display panel 10 is expanded, the support plates 31 in thesupport structure 30 are drawn out layer by layer with a laminatedstructure. Also, every two support plates 31 forms a step difference, sothat the stepped structure is formed accordingly and fits the steppedstructure of the support base 14. A step of the support base 14 of thedisplay panel 10 closest to the reel mechanism 40 is disposed on atopmost layer of the support plates 31, so as to support the displaypanel 10. In this way, the display surface of the expanded display panel10 remains unaffected by uneven step differences between the supportplates 31, improving user experience.

The flexible display screen further includes a flexible layer 20. Theflexible layer 20 is disposed on the display surface of the displaypanel 10, that is, the flexible layer 20 is disposed on a surface of thepolarizer 13 away from the touch layer 12. The flexible layer 20 and thepolarizer 13 can be attached with the adhesive layer 15. A length of theflexible layer 20 is greater than a length of the display panel 10, sothat two ends of the flexible layer 20 have extension ends 21 longerthan the display panel 10.

The reel mechanism 40 is disposed on a side of the display panel 10. Apart of the display panel 10 and the flexible layer 20 are wrappedaround inside the reel mechanism 40. As shown in FIG. 5 , the reelmechanism 40 includes a reel 41, two coil springs 42, and a housing 43.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the reel 41 is provided with a spiral windingstructure. An extension end 21 of the flexible layer 20 is fixed to acenter of the reel 41. A part of the flexible layer 20 and the displaypanel 10 disposed on the flexible layer 20 are wrapped into the reel 41along the spiral winding structure of the reel 41. Overlaying instancesof the display panel 10 wrapped around the reel 41 are separated by thespiral winding structure and are prevented from contacting each other,thereby reducing friction and electromagnetic interference generatedwhile drawing out the display panel 10 and extending the lifespan of thedisplay panel 10.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a surface of the reel 41contacting the display panel 10 can be provided with a plurality ofrollers. The rollers can be rotationally disposed on the reel 41. Arotation direction of the rollers is same as a rotation direction of thereel 41, which can reduce friction between the display panel 10 and thereel 41, thereby preventing damage due to friction and further extendingthe lifespan of the display panel 10.

In another embodiment, the rollers can be replaced with balls. Astructure of disposing the balls and a rotation direction of the ballsare similar to those of the rollers, so they are not described herein.All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the artbased on the embodiments of the present invention without creativeefforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The two coil springs 42 are respectively mounted on two ends of the reel41. When the flexible display screen is drawn out, the flexible layer 20and the display panel 10 extend outward from the reel 41 and drive thereel 41 to rotate. The reel 41 drives and tensions the coil springs 42,which generates a reaction force opposite to a rotation direction of thereel 41. The reaction force can tension the flexible layer 20 when theflexible display screen is expanded, and the display panel 10 disposedunder the flexible layer 20 is also under tension, so that displayimages does not wrinkle. When the flexible display screen is collapsed,the reaction force of the coil spring 42 drives the reel 41 to rotate,so that the flexible layer 20 and the display panel 10, which are drawnout, are rewrapped into the reel 41.

The reel 41 and the coil springs 42 are rotationally disposed in thehousing 43. The housing 43 includes a shell 44 and two caps 45. Theshell 44 is a hollow cylinder. The two caps 45 are respectively disposedon two ends of the shell 44. The shell 44 of the housing 43 is providedwith an opening 46. The flexible layer 20 and the display panel 10extend into the reel mechanism 40 through the opening 46. An end of alast layer of the support plates 31 is disposed under the opening 46.Thus, when the display panel 10 is expanded by the reel mechanism 40,the support plates 31 can also be driven to expand at the same time. Thehousing 43 is configured to protect and support the reel 41 and the coilsprings 42.

The flexible display screen further includes a motherboard 50, a powersupply 60, and a mid-frame case 70. The motherboard 50, the power supply60, and the display panel 10 are electrically connected to each other.the motherboard 50 is configured to control the display panel 10 todisplay images. The power supply 60 is configured to provide operatingenergy. The display panel 10 and the support structure 30 are disposedin the mid-frame case 70. An extension end 21 of the flexible layer 20away from the reel mechanism 40 is fixed in the mid-frame case 70. Thedisplay surface is exposed. The motherboard 50 and the power supply arealso disposed in the mid-frame case 70.

The flexible display screen and the display device provided by thepresent invention configure a surface of the display panel 10 facing thesupport structure 30 to be the stepped structure which fits the supportstructure 30, so that a step difference between every two support plates31 in the support structure 30 is eliminated, and the display surface ofthe display panel 10 is flattened, thereby improving user experience.Also, the reel 41 in the reel mechanism 40 is configured to be thespiral winding structure. The display panel 10 is wrapped into the reel41 along the spiral winding structure of the reel 41, so that everyinstance of the display panel 10 wrapped around itself is not in contactwith each other, thereby reducing friction and electromagneticinterference generated by the display panel 10 wrapped around inside thereel mechanism 40 and extending the lifespan of the display panel 10. Inaddition, the rollers or the balls are also disposed on a contactsurface between the reel 41 and the display panel 10 to reduce frictionbetween the display panel 10 and the reel 41, preventing scratch damageand further extending lifespan of the flexible display screen.

Although the present invention herein has been described with referenceto particular embodiments, it should be understood that theseembodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applicationsof the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications can be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements can be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims. It will beappreciated that the various dependent claims and the features set forththerein can be combined in different ways than presented in the initialclaims. It will also be appreciated that the features described inconnection with individual embodiments can be shared with others of thedescribed embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A flexible display screen, comprising: a displaypanel comprising a display surface and a support base away from thedisplay surface; at least one reel mechanism disposed on a side of thedisplay panel, wherein a part of the display panel is wrapped aroundinside the reel mechanism; and a support structure comprising aplurality of support plates; wherein when the display panel is expended,the plurality of support plates of the support structure forms a steppedstructure; and wherein the support base of the display panel is astepped structure, and a step of the support base of the display panelclosest to the reel mechanism is disposed on a topmost layer of theplurality of support plates.
 2. The flexible display screen according toclaim 1, wherein when the display panel is expanded, the steppedstructure formed by the plurality of support plates of the supportstructure fits the stepped structure of the support base of the expandeddisplay panel, and the display surface of the expanded display panelforms a flat surface.
 3. The flexible display screen according to claim1, wherein when the display panel is expended, the plurality of supportplates of the support structure are drawn out and form a laminatedstructure.
 4. The flexible display screen according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a flexible layer disposed on the display surface of thedisplay panel; wherein a side of the flexible layer is fixed in the reelmechanism, and a length of the display panel is less than a length ofthe flexible layer.
 5. The flexible display screen according to claim 4,wherein the reel mechanism comprises: a reel provided with a spiralwinding structure; wherein a side of the flexible layer is fixed to acenter of the reel, and the display panel and the flexible layer arewrapped into the reel mechanism along the reel.
 6. The flexible displayscreen according to claim 5, wherein the reel mechanism furthercomprises: at least one coil spring mounted on one end of the reel. 7.The flexible display screen according to claim 5, wherein the reelmechanism further comprises: balls disposed on a surface of the reelfacing the display panel; or rollers disposed on a surface of the reelfacing the display panel; wherein a rotation direction of the balls orthe rollers is same as a rotation direction of the reel mechanism. 8.The flexible display screen according to claim 5, wherein the reelmechanism further comprises: a housing; wherein the reel is rotationallydisposed in the housing, and an end of a last layer of the plurality ofsupport plates is connected to the housing; and wherein the housing isprovided with an opening, and the display panel and the flexible layerextend into the reel mechanism through the opening.
 9. The flexibledisplay screen according to claim 4, further comprising: a mid-framecase; wherein the display panel and the support structure are disposedin the mid-frame case, and the display surface is exposed; and wherein aside of the flexible layer away from the reel is fixed in the mid-framecase.
 10. The flexible display screen according to claim 9, furthercomprising: a battery disposed in the mid-frame case; and a motherboarddisposed in the mid-frame case and connected to the display panel andthe battery.
 11. The flexible display screen according to claim 1,wherein the display panel further comprises: a display layer disposed onthe support base; a touch layer disposed on a surface of the displaylayer away from the support base; and a polarizer disposed on a surfaceof the touch layer away from the display layer.
 12. A display device,comprising the flexible display screen according to claim
 1. 13. Thedisplay device according to claim 12, wherein when the display panel isexpanded, the stepped structure formed by the plurality of supportplates of the support structure fits the stepped structure of thesupport base of the expanded display panel, and the display surface ofthe expanded display panel forms a flat surface.
 14. The flexibledisplay screen according to claim 12, wherein when the display panel isexpended, the plurality of support plates of the support structure aredrawn out and form a laminated structure.